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Crystal balling the Air Force.

Monday - 7/27/2009, 11:56am EDT

In 2047, the 100th anniversary of the U.S. Air Force, there's a good chance that unmanned aircraft will play a bigger role than ever. Officials say the "Unmanned Aircraft Systems Flight Plan" recognizes that pilots on the ground still operate the U-A-Vs, as they're called. The advantage is that they can fly over fixed positions for long periods of time, something you can't do when a human being is in the plane.